The cost of being secretive

And just like that, with no pomp, no fanfare, not even a press release, the Chateauguay oil spill lawsuit is no more.

Allow us to explain further.

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) acknowledged last week, on our front page, that the lawsuit against Chateauguay for that infamous oil spill was being dropped (made official February 13, according to court records), Quebec and Canada had reimbursed them some time ago for most, but not all costs, and this was the best course of action.

Wait, what?

So, what about the principled stance that Chateauguay must pay, we were wronged, and we will get justice?

Well, as The Eastern Door exposed oh so publicly, the Council’s heroic stance was so full of holes, we’re surprised so many people bought into it. Hoodwinked doesn’t even begin to cover this whole fiasco, so let’s recap.

Cody Diabo, grand chief of the MCK, who has led with too much emotion and too little decorum, called a closed public meeting – you know, a secret one – and asked that no one at the meeting say anything about it.

Well, in this day and age of TikTok, YouTube, and the traditional town gossip going viral far quicker than the old telephone game, that’s not only impossible, it’s also foolish to try to mask intentions in such a forum, and expect it to be effectively kept quiet.

A similar secret-public meeting was held recently - with few attending - leading to a waste of rented space. That way of communicating with people won’t result in a breakthrough of epic proportions that is also airtight.

Show us where that has worked as a tactic.

What time showed – and our reporting – is it was a bad idea at first, and it only got worse.

You know the story by now, but here’s a quick refresher:

At the 2024 secret meeting about the oil spill, which was recorded, we reported on what was said, which was essentially nothing – no top-secret nuclear codes, nothing at all, really, except the question from the MCK: do we continue our lawsuit against Chateauguay?

In our experience, if you have to ask the community – who are not lawyers or legal experts – then you have no direction.

Our reporting resulted in not only a ban on attending community meetings, but the entire MCK structure was told not to talk to us, and MCK pulled its ads from our paper for a short time, until a strong editorial condemning the Council’s actions came out, and the chiefs realized their tactics failed.

Now, the miracle, hail Mary pass came when the MCK told the community the feds and province would bail them out, so to speak, by sending money to cover expenses related to the spill, not by press release, but through our reporting.

Oh, the irony.

But this wasn’t a recent reimbursement, which should be troubling for you, the reader. Why is this still not out publicly, in the form of a press release or a special announcement?

Facebook is good for knee-jerk reactions, emotions best kept in check, but the official channels are silent when it comes to this important fight. Why?

And here’s the part where standing up for what’s right, strong leadership, and measured principles come in.

The MCK is offered money, so they just leave the fight for justice on the ground and walk away? This is not a good look for the current Council.

If they believed in their fight, they should have continued it, and if they had doubts, as the secret club meeting showed, then the grand chief attacking us on Facebook, running on emotion instead of thick-skinned leadership, was certainly not the answer.

As a result, The Eastern Door is still barred from community meetings, the so-called process to get us back into them is going on 17 months now, and Chateauguay, the ones who started this whole thing, get off with not even a slap on the wrist.

Sounds like textbook crabs in a bucket. Attack your own media, your own people, and let the others get away with it because of, you guessed it, money. Oh, and that’s the colonial way, iá:ken!

If the Mohawk Council is so swayed by money and not the very real, and incredibly difficult task of fighting for what’s right, then you have to ask yourselves, especially the ones who wanted to run us out of town - are you satisfied with that outcome?

Why is the MCK scared to have TED at community meetings? Those with nothing to hide do not fear a fiercely independent media, they welcome it. They work with it. They take the criticism and learn from it.

They don’t invent a process heavily MCK-favoured and try to get us to sign or be left at the door.

But if this is the lesson, that you can start a half-assed fight you don’t really believe in, one you’re insecure about, that you know, deep down, won’t work and you will lose, and then find a scapegoat so you can feel better about it when that day comes.

Why have we not learned about both government offers to the MCK before it was accepted? We thought the new processes in place mean you have more of a say over how your government of the day governs.

They consult you for a lawsuit you have no clue how to proceed on, yet they don’t ask you if they should accept this money, which equates to hush money?

The Longhouse was also pissed about the spill, where does this leave them? Hopefully we will hear from them in an official capacity to clarify their stance now that the Council has said it’s game over.

Something’s not right, folks, and it’s time the naysayers or Council supporters not only ask the tough questions and demand answers but stand behind us instead of just listening to -and, sadly, following - that tired old mantra “media bad, Council good.”

When we write, we do it for the betterment of all, with the truth and our journalistic principles as our guide, the collective needs at the forefront.

If our community is going to move forward and regain real power there will be bumps along the way, but it must include an independent media reporting on all of it.

Otherwise, they will just bury it, and no one would be left to truly fight for you, the people.

Steve Bonspiel

The Eastern Door